Wednesday, 30 May 2007

Let me try to discuss the purpose of this blog by explaining a bit more about its title.

Hans Cristian Orsted was the first to use the Latin- German mixed term Gedankenexperiment, which literally means an experiment conducted in the thoughts...

There is no single definition of the term thought experiment; but in its broadest usage, "thought experimentation is the process of employing imaginary situations to help us understand the way things really are" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought_experiment).

Now, what I am interested to explore (and I hope you are as well....) is exactly these hypothetical questions that employ subjunctive reasoning. I am interested in running a thought experiment online, and see what might come out of it...

I like the word "experiment"... I like it because it is honest and ambiguous at the same time. The way I see it, thoughts are experiments. Before we act, we think (or at least, so I heard....), we come up and try out dozens of different scenarios in our "imagination lab", then we decide which one seems or feels to be the best and finally we act.

So, what is the thinking process if not an experiment? Think about this...we can run thousands of different thought experiments every day (well, yes, I am a bit of a daydreamer....), but when we are called to take action, well then.... things certainly do change! That is no experiment anymore... that is life!

And this very simple existential observation that life is full of imperfections is wisely and fully incorporated in two words "Shit happens" (or if you excuse my French "C'est la vie").